No more subscriptions

[kugarm]

Have you ever think if the subscription model just gone away?

It's a old system, new MMOs don't need this mercenary model. We have gw2, same generation, never have subscription (many others: BDO, ESO, SWTOR). The new generation is buy-to-play or free-to-play.

In my opinion, blizzard must remove the pay-to-play (we already buy the game, is it reallly needs pay a "rent"?)

[kranur]

Have you ever think if the subscription model just gone away?

It's a old system, new MMOs don't need this mercenary model. We have gw2, same generation, never have subscription (many others: BDO, ESO, SWTOR). The new generation is buy-to-play or free-to-play.

In my opinion, blizzard must remove the pay-to-play (we already buy the game, is it reallly needs pay a "rent"?)

Wouldn't like it if it was turned into a complete blizzard store fest. I am thankful it has not happened and remained on a sub.

When you have players with special, preferential or whatever advantages over the rest of the players you know the game is bad.

[enigma77]

I'd rather have them increase the fee and get rid of all the micro transactions.

[tru]

No... As much as I hate the design direction currently it just wouldn't work it's to established.

Take away bag space then have to pay for it?
Massively increase leveling times to buy boosts?
Take away transmog only to pay to unlock it?
Limit everything over heroic level dungeons and you have to buy more lockouts?

Gw2 was great when it launched but looking at the"content" that came with it's age you see why f2p isn't successful in the long run. All those Korean MMOs rift. Anything by tirion or whatever it's called. It's just not self sufficient enough. Wow does deliver on a lot. We wouldn't have half of what we do now if they relied on microtransactions

[Aphrel]

One would think theyd stick to one model of payment for their product.

Instead they have 4.

1. You pay for the game
2. you pay for access to the game on a monthly basis.
3. you pay for cosmetics
4. you pay for ingame services like swapping server or altering your characters gender etc.

Makes me wonder if Bezos designed their mdoel of payment...

[Dakhath]

If you think the community is shit now, just imagine would it would be if the sub went away.

[Mirishka]

Have you ever think if the subscription model just gone away?

It's a old system, new MMOs don't need this mercenary model. We have gw2, same generation, never have subscription (many others: BDO, ESO, SWTOR). The new generation is buy-to-play or free-to-play.

In my opinion, blizzard must remove the pay-to-play (we already buy the game, is it reallly needs pay a "rent"?)

I have no interest in seeing the sub go away. WoW gives entertainment literally 24/7 practically every day of every month for the cost of seeing a movie with a small popcorn. If it isn't for you, it isn't for you, but don't assume that means it doesn't work for the entire 'new generation' because you do not speak for all of us.

- - - Updated - - -

If you think the community is shit now, just imagine would it would be if the sub went away.

1000% this.

[Justpassing]

One would think theyd stick to one model of payment for their product.

Instead they have 4.

1. You pay for the game
2. you pay for access to the game on a monthly basis.
3. you pay for cosmetics
4. you pay for ingame services like swapping server or altering your characters gender etc.

Makes me wonder if Bezos designed their mdoel of payment...

Yeah it's ok when FF does it but that's ok beacuse catgirls.

>:3

[Mirishka]

If you think the community is shit now, just imagine would it would be if the sub went away.

Pretty much this, yes.

[Raisei]

Have you ever think if the subscription model just gone away?

It's a old system, new MMOs don't need this mercenary model. We have gw2, same generation, never have subscription (many others: BDO, ESO, SWTOR). The new generation is buy-to-play or free-to-play.

In my opinion, blizzard must remove the pay-to-play (we already buy the game, is it reallly needs pay a "rent"?)

You know what all these games have in common? They suck, because new content comes at an icredibly slow rate sometimes there are years between expansions and there are no content updates inbetween and the content of an expansion is so small you can play it in one weekend.

I personally played SWTOR. An "expansion" there was about the size of what we call a content patch in WoW. Some story missions, maybe 2 dungeons and in the early days 2 raids. Then there was NOTHING for years. No mid expansion dungeons, no additional raids opening later. Nothing. Later on and by now for 5 years or so they did not deliver raids at all.

I actually went back to check the new Onslaught "expansion" that they squeezed out like 3 years after the last one. I was finished in a day. I even did all the dungeons because you just do them as part of the story in solo mode!

My favourite part was when I got stuck in a story mission due to a game breaking bug. The commuity manager assured me and the others with it that they would adress it in NEXT WEEKS maintenance. They do not have Hotfixes! They ship an expansion with enourmous bugs and then wait a full week to fix them.

Why am I bringing all of this up? Because this is the result of removing the sub from SWTOR. Money is not readily available anymore so only the things that really make money get funded decently. You know what that was for SWTOR? The friggin CASH SHOP. Every week you had more cool looking things hid behind a paywall and more and more dev time went into creating outfits and skins for selling in the shop. Of course they did not have time to adress bugs more then once a week or make actual content.

GW2 also suffers from extremely slow content drops with it's last expansion (I checked) released in September 2017 and what always annoyed me, buying the expansion does not allow you to do the older Living World chapters. Those you buy seperatedly. Which would matter less if the bleeding expansion would not just throw you in the middle of the plot with no idea what is going on, because they simply assume you paid for the chapter before and do not even have the decency to give you a summary. Path of Fire it was literally that the main villain was introduced in the chapters with his entire backstory and motivation and when you arrive in the expansion you are already hunting him without so much as a reason given.


Tldr.: MMOs without a sub cannot keep up quality and pace in content or customer service because they do not have the financial security to invest in things. If you want a good game that keeps being developed well, you pay for it. Quality is not free.

[Blackmist]

I can see where people are coming from, but the subscription is behind every terrible decision Blizzard make.

Why all the time gating and godawful grinds? To keep us subscribed. An eternal fear of missing out. They've already crammed the store full of things you can't get any other way, so it's not like the subscription actually prevents that.

There's no easy answer. They'll still be greedy fucks with or without it. The community will always be shit with or without it, because you likely never see the same toxic players again anyway.

[filiral]

You pay for like 0.01% of cosmetics

And those cosmetics help blizz offset 15 years of inflation so they don't need to increase monthly sub cost. (Would be about $21 a month if they'd adjusted, so technically the game has gotten cheaper since launch)

[ReVnX]

If the subscription was gone, the shop would get much much worse

[crusadernero]

I can see where people are coming from, but the subscription is behind every terrible decision Blizzard make.

Why all the time gating and godawful grinds? To keep us subscribed. An eternal fear of missing out. They've already crammed the store full of things you can't get any other way, so it's not like the subscription actually prevents that.

There's no easy answer. They'll still be greedy fucks with or without it. The community will always be shit with or without it, because you likely never see the same toxic players again anyway.

If you look on how many cosmetic items, pets and mounts that are in the store then look at how much there is to obtain in-game... The store dont have THAT much. If the sub were removed, they would naturally increase the amount of stuff in the store. By alot. One quick idea is to put every xpac in wow behind a paywall. Want to play Cata content? Pay 10 dollars. Want XP increase when leveling? pay 10 dollars. The ideas are endless here really. Maybe introduce lootboxes?

I dont like the store at all, but its here and atleast Blizzard havent gone fully crazy. The sub makes sure this dont happen. Aslong as there is a sub, the community can strike back at Blizzard for stuff being put in the store.

[Rucati]

You can already basically play without a subscription for like 150k gold a month which takes all of three hours to get at most.

There's really no reason to get rid of the sub fee, all those other games you listed are basically dead, so I have no idea why you'd think that model is superior. People are willing to pay for a good product, even if it's monthly, because all the alternatives are trash. If a good MMO comes out that's free then maybe Blizzard would have to consider it, until then there's no reason they'd change.

[Ielenia]

Have you ever think if the subscription model just gone away?

Yes. And it's a good thing it's still here.

Otherwise we'd start having:
• Actual gear on the cash shop
• New classes on the cash shop
• New races on the cash shop
• Game-affecting buffs on the cash shop

And likely much worse, too.

[FuxieDK]

Have you ever think if the subscription model just gone away?

Removing subscription is always last step before life support.

It drives away more players than it lure in.

[Greyvax]

Subscription will never go away. Even in f2p games, they have a "gold tier" type subscription that gets thrown in your face every so often. Basically you get locked out of any end-game unless you pay up.

[Beet]

Yeah and I hope the subscription model for WoW never goes away. I like that I’m supporting a game I enjoy and I get an equal footing with everyone else. It’s $15.00 a month too which is a lot less in 2020 than it was in the 90s when MMOs first charged that fee.

[Virolykana]

take away subscription and the game will die becaus there will be no new content no good content becuas blizzard only makes content as long as it pays of and makes them money, f they remove the sub then u would se a insane increse in shop items for money and prolly alot of pay to win, like al other none sub games of this size

- - - Updated - - -

yepp like al none sub games like wow are atm, wich is what kills them thats why only wow and final fantasy online works and still are being played